1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to revolving battery guns, e.g. Gatling Guns, and especially to an arrangement for substantially eliminating the recoil moment in the pitch and yaw planes due to the firing of each gun barrel during the rotation of the battery.
2. Prior Art
In U.S. Pat. No. 125,563, issued Apr. 9, 1872 to R. J. Gatling, there is shown the classic modern revolving battery gun. A stationary main cam is in a housing which encloses and supports a rotating receiver assembly which has a plurality of barrels and a like plurality of chambers and bolts. Rounds of ammunition are serially passed through the housing and handed to each bolt in turn as it passes the feeding station. This principle of operation has become conventional, as shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,849,921, issued Sept. 2, 1958 to H. McC. Otto, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,380,343, issued Apr. 30, 1968 to R. E. Chiabrandy et al.
The center of gravity of a typical Gatling gun does not lie on the axis of the firing barrel. As a consequence, firing of the gun generates a recoil moment in the pitch and yaw planes: a moment which must be resisted by the gun mount as well as by the structure of the gun itself. The moment thus developed manifests itself in undesirable lateral loads passed into the mount, as well as in increased dispersion and, in extreme cases, increased gun power consumption.